On March 02, 2024, at Dinamo ski base in Perm, the 5th anniversary Olympic Ski Track — a charity ski race — took place being organized by the foundation of Albert Demchenko, a three-time silver medalist of the Olympic Games born in Perm Krai. Again, UZPM — the largest manufacturer of advanced deicing materials in the territory of Russia — was a participant and a title sponsor of the ski race. All money made during the event is going to be spent for the implementation of the sensory integration programmes for children with disabilities and for the support of adaptive and youth sports.
For the fifth year in a raw, the Olympic Ski Track has been helping to promote a healthy lifestyle, physical education, and skiing. Amateurs and professionals from 5 territories of Russia participated in the anniversary ski race: not just from all over Perm Krai, but also from Moscow, Izhevsk, Ufa, Yekaterinburg, and Omsk. This year approximately 800 people competed in 1, 3, 5 and 10 km distances. Each start was preceded by a group dance warm-up at the main stage, and, at the finish line, each skier received a commemorative medal of a participant.
A special highlight of the sports festival was a 1 km costume race the participants of which demonstrated not only the ability to cover short distances in the shortest possible time, but also a creative approach to choosing and creating bright and memorable images of characters from fairy tales, movies, and cartoons.
Bionord team skiers representing UZPM took 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in the individual competition in a 10 km race, as well as 2nd place in a 5 km race. In the group competition, UZPM team took 3rd place among 12 corporate teams and school teams. The 1st place went to the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for Perm Krai.
Just like in the previous year, Bionord team turned out to be most numerous. Almost 120 people came from UZPM to welcome spring, get a charge of cheerfulness and good mood on that sunny Saturday: Perm Office employees, as well as the production site workers from Krasnokamsk and their families. The Company’s mascot in sports — a little Yeti named Iceman — also came to support the team; hundreds of children and adults took pictures with the mascot all day long.
“For our employees the Olympic Ski Track winter charity start is one of the most anticipated events of the year. Most of the Plant employees come to the ski race together with their families. Here everyone can choose a distance according to their abilities and an entertainment to their liking,” Oksana Zolotko, UZPM HR Department Manager shared her impressions of the ski race. “Ural Plant of Deicing Materials is involved in the development of the internal, mass, and children's sports, and also supports the Paralympic para-badminton team of Perm Krai. For several years it has been a great honor for the Company to be a partner of the foundation established by Albert Demchenko, our outstanding fellow countryman, who does so much for children needing special attention and care most of all.”
At the award ceremony, the oldest and the youngest participants in the ski race received special prizes from UZPM. A 76-year-old woman who skied a 3 km distance received a branded backpack and a sports tracker, and a white bear wearing a hat and a Bionord snood went to Eva Permyakova who conquered a distance of 1 km at just 3 years old.